Friday Night Dialogues: Straight talk on ticks
The subject is ticks and the diseases they bring, tonight at the Shelter Island Public Library.
BY PETER FARRAR | CONTRIBUTOR
Get straight talk from an information source on the East End. The Shelter Island Library’s Friday Night Dialogues tonight, July 24 at 6:30 p.m., will host Dr. George Dempsey, a member of the Physician Panel of the Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center at Southampton Hospital.
He will discuss Lyme and other tick-borne diseases carried by the different species of ticks that are found on Eastern Long Island — the symptoms, diagnostic tests and treatment options available.
So many questions arise when dealing with ticks from how to reduce your exposure, proper removal from the skin, identification of species, knowing the symptoms of infection to the complex manifestations of the diseases carried — Lyme arthritis, alpha-gal allergy (a meat allergy caused by the lone star tick), to name a few.
Knowing and abiding by the fundamentals is our individual responsibility. Keeping up with the most recent medical and scientific findings is paramount to the clear thinking necessary to combat this pestilence on a larger scale.
The Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center at Southampton Hospital educates the public, promotes collaboration in the medical community and facilitates access to diagnosis and treatment of tick borne diseases. The Center’s web address is EastEndTickResource.org and advice phone line is 726-TICK.
Our Island community seems to be on the brink of major decisions to bring the “public health crisis” caused by the growing tick infestation under control. These decisions need to be informed and supported by a knowledgeable population.
Join Dr. Dempsey to obtain the knowledge (and power) to do so at 6:30 p.m. (please note time change) in the Community Room of the library tonihgt, July 24. Admission is free with donations gladly accepted.
Next Up: Eileen Duffy and “Behind The Bottle: The Rise of Wine on Long Island” on Friday, July 31.
